In the Dutch colonial town later known as Albany, New York, there lived a baker, Van Amsterdam, who was as honest as he could be. He took great care to give his customers exactly what they paid for—not more and not less.
One Saint Nicholas Day morning, when the baker was just ready for business, the door of his shop flew open. 31 She asked for a dozen of the baker’s Saint Nicholas cookies. Van Amsterdam counted out twelve cookies. But the woman insisted that a dozen is thirteen. Van Amsterdam was not a man to bear foolishness. He refused. The woman turned to go without the cookies but she stopped at the door, saying, “Van Amsterdam! However honest you may be, your heart is small and your fist is tight.” Then she was gone.
32 His bread rose too high or not at all. His pies were sour or too sweet. His cookies were burnt or doughy. His customers soon noticed the difference and slipped away.
A year passed. The baker grew poorer and poorer. Finally, on the day before Saint Nicholas Day, no customer came to his shop. 33
That night, the baker had a dream. He saw Saint Nicholas pulling out gifts from his baskets for a crowd of happy children. No matter how many presents Nicholas handed out, there were always more to give. Then somehow, Saint Nicholas turned into the old woman with the long black shawl!
34 He suddenly realized that he always gave his customers exactly what they paid for, “But why not give more?”
The next morning, on Saint Nicholas Day, the baker rose early to make cookies. And to his surprise, the cookies were as fine as they could be. When he had just finished, the old woman appeared at his door again. She asked for a dozen of Van Amsterdam’s Saint Nicholas cookies. 35
When people heard he counted thirteen as a dozen, he had more customers than ever and became wealthy. The practice then spread to other towns as a common custom.
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